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| Leesburg Memorial Field/Hubert O. Dabney Stadium, Home of the Jackets |
By Joe Williams and Herky Cush, of The Sentinel Staff
September 4, 1996
LEESBURG
— For an ailing Leesburg football program trying to recover from three
consecutive losing seasons and in need of a booster shot of confidence,
the prescription was New Port Richey Gulf.
Gulf, in the Florida High School Activities Association's Kickoff Classic on Friday night, was a cure-all for Leesburg.
The Yellow Jackets have not shut out an opponent in their past 22 regular-season games, and during that span, they have not scored more than 28 points in a game. That changed Friday night: Leesburg 46, Gulf 0.
Gulf, in the Florida High School Activities Association's Kickoff Classic on Friday night, was a cure-all for Leesburg.
The Yellow Jackets have not shut out an opponent in their past 22 regular-season games, and during that span, they have not scored more than 28 points in a game. That changed Friday night: Leesburg 46, Gulf 0.
The
game might have been a preseason contest that does not count in the
record books, but it counted in someplace far more important - in the
minds of Leesburg's players.
''This gives us the confidence we needed to show the kids that they can play football,'' Leesburg coach Ed Hoffman said, walking off the field. ''I saw all smiley faces on the sideline.''
There were plenty of reasons for Leesburg to smile. Here are just a few:
Tailback Ky Littles rushed for 192 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns. As a team, Leesburg rushed for 406 yards on 39 carries. Fullback Anthony Walker also scored two touchdowns on runs of 7 and 4 yards and had 69 yards rushing. Slotback Bishon Roberts caught three passes from Shaun Cunningham for 41 yards and rushed seven times for 78 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, end Paul Nesbitt recovered three fumbles, returning one 68 yards for a touchdown. Tackle John Russ had a hand in two sacks. Jim Junecko forced a fourth Gulf turnover with an interception.
''I think our offensive line did a good job of coming off the ball, and that was why we were able to run the ball like we did,'' Hoffman said. ''We ran the ball so well that we didn't throw it as much as we wanted.''
The game also was a matchup of two former coaches who were once part of the same coaching staff.
Hoffman and Gulf's first-year coach, Keith Newton, were assistants together at Hudson under now-retired coach Wilbur Lofton, who also had head-coaching stints at Leesburg (1960s-70s) and Gulf (1980s-90s).
Other impressive teams in the classics were South Lake, a 22-8 victor over Umatilla, and South Sumter, a 20-6 winner over county rival Wildwood.
Frostproof flexed its offense in a 62-14 victory over Tavares. Mount Dora lost to Pierson Taylor, 41-24, and Eustis was on the short end of a 30-14 score with Poinciana.
Mount Dora coach Craig Cosden was happy with the 24 points his Hurricanes rang up in the loss to Pierson Taylor.
''We did a great job on offense,'' Cosden said. ''We moved the ball well several times.''
The Hurricanes alternated between the single wing and wing-T with junior Desmond Wesley at quarterback.
He completed 12 of 28 passes for 28 yards and touchdowns to Dominick Clayton and Pat Gorenflo. Single wing tailback Chad Montgomery scored a touchdown and on a 2-point conversion. He also completed a few passes.
''This gives us the confidence we needed to show the kids that they can play football,'' Leesburg coach Ed Hoffman said, walking off the field. ''I saw all smiley faces on the sideline.''
There were plenty of reasons for Leesburg to smile. Here are just a few:
Tailback Ky Littles rushed for 192 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns. As a team, Leesburg rushed for 406 yards on 39 carries. Fullback Anthony Walker also scored two touchdowns on runs of 7 and 4 yards and had 69 yards rushing. Slotback Bishon Roberts caught three passes from Shaun Cunningham for 41 yards and rushed seven times for 78 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, end Paul Nesbitt recovered three fumbles, returning one 68 yards for a touchdown. Tackle John Russ had a hand in two sacks. Jim Junecko forced a fourth Gulf turnover with an interception.
''I think our offensive line did a good job of coming off the ball, and that was why we were able to run the ball like we did,'' Hoffman said. ''We ran the ball so well that we didn't throw it as much as we wanted.''
The game also was a matchup of two former coaches who were once part of the same coaching staff.
Hoffman and Gulf's first-year coach, Keith Newton, were assistants together at Hudson under now-retired coach Wilbur Lofton, who also had head-coaching stints at Leesburg (1960s-70s) and Gulf (1980s-90s).
Other impressive teams in the classics were South Lake, a 22-8 victor over Umatilla, and South Sumter, a 20-6 winner over county rival Wildwood.
Frostproof flexed its offense in a 62-14 victory over Tavares. Mount Dora lost to Pierson Taylor, 41-24, and Eustis was on the short end of a 30-14 score with Poinciana.
Mount Dora coach Craig Cosden was happy with the 24 points his Hurricanes rang up in the loss to Pierson Taylor.
''We did a great job on offense,'' Cosden said. ''We moved the ball well several times.''
The Hurricanes alternated between the single wing and wing-T with junior Desmond Wesley at quarterback.
He completed 12 of 28 passes for 28 yards and touchdowns to Dominick Clayton and Pat Gorenflo. Single wing tailback Chad Montgomery scored a touchdown and on a 2-point conversion. He also completed a few passes.
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